Baron Dave Romm
TV Season: Fall 2010
By Baron Dave Romm
Watch short and idiosyncratic videos on Baron Dave's You Tube Channel
Next week, I'll be away for Thanksgiving.
Have you noticed that this year, the word "turkey" isn't nearly as prevalent as "pumpkin"? And that the stores went from the orange of Halloween right to the red and white of Christmas?
Discuss.
Quick reviews of some new tv shows.
Better With You is a multi-generational family comedy in the mold of Modern Family (including a similar opening sequence. The stories follow the parents, who have been married 37 years, the older daughter, who has been living with a guy for 9 years with no plan=s for marriage, and the younger daughter who has found the right guy, gotten pregnant and wants to get married right away. The show's defining set pieces are how each set of couples handles the same problem, eg finding a spider. My favorite of the new sitcoms, so far. Recommended.
Blue Blood is a multi-generational crime drama. Tom Selleck is excellent as the Police Commissioner, and incidentally father to two cops and a lawyer. The show's defining set pieces are the family dinner table. Ruled by the great-grandfather, the former Commissioner who has passed the job to his son, and continuing down to the kids, who are wrestling whether to be cops when they grow up. The plots are gritty and sometimes a little convoluted and don't ring true. The twist is that the third brother, a cop, was killed in the line of duty, possibly investigating a super-secret organization of cops in the system. Donnie Wahlberg is his tragic best as a hard-nosed cop. My favorite of the dramas so far. Recommended, and watch a couple to get into the involved family relationships.
I'm not entirely sure what to say about the revival of Hawaii 5-0. When 5-0 good, it's very good. Sharp writing, good acting, a shade fast on the editing, and overall a good action/adventure buddy cop show. When 5-0 isn't good, it's tedious. Early shows that highlight attributes of characters are fine, but the episode still has to work. Too often, the leads just bicker like The Gilmore Girls or while driving around, like Thelma and Louise. If the producers wanted to make their own crime drama, I'd be less critical, but they've made the deliberate decision to harken back to the original series. Mostly, this works: Hearing the theme song is great, and the Hawaiian scenery is a nice change from the gritty street dramas. Still, frankly, the best episodes, so far, have been the ones with "Book 'em, Danno". I'll give this one a cautious recommendation, as it hasn't fallen off my DVR yet.
No Ordinary Family is about a family who gains superpowers due to unexplained water in the Amason. Live action, it has the cuddly family stuff of The Incredibles or Spy Kids. And it has the real life nearly believable feel of Unbreakable or The Fantastic Four (which also had Chiklis). I won't go into details; you'll pick up the storylines and powers quickly. Which is part of the problem: The development of the larger story arcs are very slow. Will the father wear a costume? Will the daughter blab to her friend about their powers? Are they crime solvers or part of the problem? Further twists include supervillians whoseem to be working for the mother's boss. Another provisional recommendation.
Bleep My Dad Says is growing on me. Grudgingly. Sure, William Shatner is a lot of fun as an Vietnam-era miliatry doctor who just shoots his mouth off, even at his family. But the two SNL castoffs are annoying, and the show doesn't revolve around the dad's inappropriate remarks. Still, the episodes tend to work, and the seemingly dysfunctional family loves each other. And Shatner gets to do some karaoke. Perhaps not for everyone, but it hasn't fallen off my DVR yet.
Detroit 1-8-7 was originally planned as a mockumentary, and they probably should have stuck with the premise. Michael Imperioli is either brilliant or horribly miscast as the lead. The writers never seem to know quite what to do with him. He's either the grizzled experienced cop who runs by instinct, or the veteran who still has things to learn. The acting is good and the writing is okay, and they've churned out a bunch of slightly-above-average shows. If you like this sort of thing, you'll like this show. It hasn't fallen off my DVR yet, so I'll give it a light provisional recommend.
Outsourced is a show opposite to other shows I record, so I've only seen a few of them. Still, it seems fun. I'll catch them in reruns or DVD.
Cancelled shows
Cancelled show so far, and I may be behind in industry gossip...
I tried to watch The Whole Truth and couldn't. Physically, I couldn't. Bright flashes of light at too many scene changes. Flashing lights are all-too-common anyway, but this show abused the technique. I got ten minutes into the first show and had to stop. Good riddance.
Lone Star had perhaps the stupidest premise of any non-comedy show I can remember: A con artist bigamist decides he loves both women and don't like grifting. His grifter father still wants the cons... making the bigamist the good guy. Sheesh.
Outlaw had potential, but also had a stupid premise: An extreme right-wing Supreme Court Justice (Jimmy Smits) was about to get outed as a gambler, so resigned to be a fighting liberal defense attorney. The writers tried desperately to play against all expectations, and some of the supporting cast interactions were interesting, but ultimately it just didn't work.
Undercovers attempted to use two ex-CIA caterers as black ops undercover operators. While they're still running their catering business. The shows were a little better than the premise, but it was getting tiresome watching them make excuses to the sister who had to handle the Big Catering Job while they were off in some foreign clime.
Returning Shows
Glee has done several brilliant shows this season. Sometimes, even the High School soap opera works. Mostly, though, the show rises and falls on the musical numbers, and how well they fit into the story arc of the show. Many of my friends complained about the Rocky Horror Picture Show episode, since they didn't actually do RHPS. I thought it was great, as the singing and dancing were just the right combination of harkening back to the original while being a uniquely Glee episode. I was amazed that they got away with "Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me". All the numbers continued the show's plotlines. Not every show has risen to greatness, but enough have that it's become my one of my favorites, and one of the first ones I watch when catching up on the DVR.
Big Bang Theory is still my favorite show on tv; certainly my favorite comedy. The adventures and pitfalls of the four ubergeeks and their sexy neighbor are still fun to watch. The dialog is, if anything, sharper and the plots are, if anything, funnier. Still highly recommended. Be sure to stop the DVR for the Vanity Card at the end, or read the Vanity Card archive.
Modern Family keeps getting better and better as the actors grow into their roles and the writers give them funny things to do. The multi-generational and multi-ethnic family loves each other, and have arguments and not just bickering. The show boasts the best gay couple on tv; actual real people who live real lives. Well, real sitcom lives anyway.
Medium has been cancelled, or at least not renewed. Despite changing networks. The show's interesting premise: A housewife sees the present and/or and past and/or the future in her dreams. Sometimes dead people haunt her, and sometimes her psychic powers manifest themselves in odd ways. Her three daughters seem to possess similar abilities. The long-suffering husband is the rock in the whole family; very supportive but not quite taking all odd dreams at face value. The show was usually above average, but rarely rose too far above the premise. I'm happy it lasted seven seasons, but I can't say I'm going to mourn it's loss too hard.
Bones: Forensic geekery at its finest. The show got better when they stopped pretending the anthropologists weren't working with the police, so they don't have to waste time dragging them into the action.
House, now with Joan of Arcadia and sex between House and Cuddy. The bickering is getting old, but Amber Tamblyn brings some freshness to the proceedings.
The Good Guys is getting slightly long in the tooth in its second season, but is still chugging along. The unlikely exploits of a cop who only goes on instinct, and not direct orders, is played to the hilt by Bradford Whitley. Imagine one half of Starsky and Hutch still at it thirty years later. One of the episodes brought back the team... The defining set-pieces are the flash backs in the middle of the action, explaining to the viewer just how all these unlikely things came to happen.
Psych is still chugging along. The rapid-fire bickering between the two buddies is clever but annoying. The police are utterly unbelievable. Still, they manage to wrap up most plots in a satisfactory manner. I don't expect Shawn or Gus to grow up, but you have to buy into the premise to watch the show. I still watch, but it's a B-lister.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. A nascent collection of videos are on Baron Dave's YouTube channel. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
roger ebert's journal: Midnight at the oasis
Everywhere I go, as much as I can, I listen to National Public Radio. It's an oasis of clear-headed intelligence. Carefully, patiently, it presents programming designed to make me feel just a little better equipped to reenter the world of uproar.
James Rainey: "On the Media: The battle for NPR's public's funding" (Los Angeles Times)
Republicans, who will control the House, have already tried one procedural gambit, with more likely to come.
Matt Miller: Ohhh, America, you're so strong (Washington Post)
Does anyone else think there's something a little insecure about a country that requires its politicians to constantly declare how exceptional it is? A populace in need of this much reassurance may be the surest sign of looming national decline.
GAIL COLLINS: The Zombie Jamboree (The New York Times)
Welcome to the era of zombie politics: uninfected humans have to band together and do whatever it takes to fend off the irrational undead.
BOB HERBERT: Hiding From Reality (The New York Times)
The nation is in denial about the true extent of its problems, from the economy to the deficits to the wars overseas.
JOHN CORNWELL: MacIntyre on money (Prospect Magazine)
The influential moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre has long stood outside the mainstream. Has the financial crisis finally vindicated his critique of global capitalism?
Susan Estrich: Travel Etiquette (Creators Syndicate)
The first time I ever got on an airplane - to fly from Boston to New York, around 1970 - I got all dressed up. Flying was a big deal. The airport was, I thought, one of the most glamorous places I'd ever been.
Marc Dion: Hitler, Faulkner, Tupac and the Voice (Creators Syndicate)
The kid heard The Voice. The kid, a student near Detroit, heard the voice of his teacher, telling him his claimed religious scruples against "accepting gays" were not to be uttered in a classroom. The kid got pitched out of class. The teacher ate a suspension, without pay. This did not happen in a private, religious school, which is a bit of a miracle, since getting a public school teacher suspended is as easy as stuffing an angry badger into an empty beer bottle.
Jack Davies: "Aung San Suu Kyi: I was both prisoner and maintenance woman" (The Guardian)
Burma's pro-democracy leader talks about her life in captivity, her first days of freedom and the fight ahead.
Suzanne Goldenberg: "Arnold Schwarzenegger: my future as a green activist" (The Guardian)
Film star turned California governor prepares to leave office and become a global champion in war against climate change.
David L. Ulin: "Critic's Notebook: Patti Smith shines between art's boundaries" (Los Angeles Times)
"Just Kids," which won the National Book Award for nonfiction Wednesday night, is a reminder that Patti Smith has always had more than making records on her mind.
20 Questions: Elf Power (Popmatters)
Elephant Six collective Elf Power sit down for 20 Questions, shedding light on serious matters, including CGI, salmon jerky, and how best to get rid of Mormons knocking at your door.
David Bruce has 39 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $39 you can buy 9,750 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
Hubert's Poetry Corner
"The Legend of Choctaw Beer and President Theodore Roosevelt"
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Oh, Come All Ye Shoppers...' Edition
In case you haven't noticed (haha), the 'Holiday Season' onslaught has begun. (Actually, it did the day after Halloween, but no matter). The economic hopes and dreams of countless retailers, wholesalers, grocers, catalog companies, Internet discounters, hotels, motels, airlines, bus lines, restaurants, bars, credit card loan-sharks and the Salvation Army are depending on YOU for their very survival... Or, so they say... In addition, as always, elbowing their way in like a bunch of 'Red-haired Step-Children" demanding attention are those, too, who push the whole 'Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men... Reason for the Season' agenda despite the overwhelming evidence that those sentiments might actually happen for only, like, two seconds... If'n we're lucky... So.. Looking at 'The Big Picture'...
What is your overall attitude regarding the upcoming festivities?
A.) Joy to the World! It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
B.) Is it over yet?
C.) Sigh... It is, what it is... I'll make it through... somehow... I think...
Send your response to
wrote:
took the day off.
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Suggestions
Michelle in AZ
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Clear, cool and very windy.
Britain Leads
International Emmys
Simon Cowell's kinder side will be spotlighted when the former "American Idol" judge is honored at the 38th Annual International Emmy Awards.
Cowell, who left "Idol" earlier this year to launch an American version of his hit British singing competition "The X Factor" next year, will be presented the International Emmy Founders Award in recognition of both his television achievements and extensive charitable work. The awards ceremony will take place Monday night at the Hilton New York Hotel.
The presentation to Cowell will be the centerpiece of the awards show, hosted by former "Beverly Hills 90210" star Jason Priestley, in which 39 nominees from 15 countries will be vying in 10 categories for International Emmys, honoring excellence in TV programming outside the U.S.
British television productions garnered a leading nine nominations, including two for "The Street," the BBC1 series about the lives of different residents on a road in northwest England. "The Street" is in contention for best drama series and best actor for Bob Hoskins in his role as a reformed alcoholic who runs a pub and stands up to the neighborhood mobster.
International Emmys
Ordered To Pull Palin Pages
Gawker
A federal judge on Saturday ordered Gawker Media to pull leaked pages of Sarah Palin's forthcoming book "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag" from its blog.
The injunction prohibits Gawker from "continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages from the book" pending a hearing on Nov. 30.
HarperCollins Publishers had sued Gawker after it published images on Nov. 17 from Palin's book before its release next week.
Gawker defended its action in a post Thursday titled "Sarah Palin is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book" and addressed a message to "Sarah" telling her to read pages about fair use under copyright law. "Or skip the totally boring reading and call one of your lawyers," the post said. "They'll walk you through it."
Gawker
Lovelace Not In The Stars
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan won't be playing 1970s porn star Linda Lovelace in "Inferno."
Writer-director Matthew Wilder says his production team is in negotiations with another actress and will make an announcement soon.
Some media reports say the 24-year-old starlet quit to focus on her court-ordered rehab for drug addiction; others say Wilder wanted her replaced.
The "Mean Girls" star is expected to be in rehab in southern California until at least Jan. 3.
Lindsay Lohan
New Exhibit
"The Two Empires"
The silk trade connection between the Chinese and Roman empires went on display in a unique exhibition in Rome that opened on Friday, including hundreds of rare artifacts from the ancient powers.
The exhibit sets a variety of Chinese and Roman archaeological treasures -- jade coffins, silk robes, musical instruments and statues -- side by side in the Palazzo Venezia museum and the old Roman Senate building in the Forum.
"The Two Empires: The Eagle and The Dragon" will run until February 6.
Some of the most visually stunning pieces are a jade and gold funeral covering for a Chinese king from the 1st century AD and a giant lacquer and jade sarcophagus from the Han dynasty from the 2nd-1st centuries BC.
"The Two Empires"
Food Network Cancels
'Ace of Cakes'
Celebrity baker Duff Goldman hasn't decorated his last elaborate cake, but he no longer has Food Network cameras following his every move.
The network confirmed Sunday that it has canceled "Ace of Cakes," the reality show that followed Goldman and the colorful staff of his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes.
The network says in a statement that the show's upcoming 10th season, which begins airing in January, will be its last. "Ace of Cakes" debuted in 2006. The final season will consist of six episodes, bringing the total for the series to 116.
Goldman confirmed in a statement on Charm City Cakes' website that the show has been canceled and that production has already wrapped on the final season.
'Ace of Cakes'
Wedding Advice
Girls
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the best age for girls to get married was between 16 and 18, Iranian newspapers reported on Sunday.
Analysts say such announcements could be part of the government's efforts to gain support among young voters.
Iran's parliament in 2004 raised the legally acceptable age of marriage for girls to 15 from nine.
"The best age for marriage is between 16 to 18 for girls and 19 to 21 for boys," the Mardomsalari newspaper quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.
Girls
Researchers Drill
Dead Sea
From a barge floating above the deepest point on earth, a research team hopes to drill through half a million years of history to uncover secrets of climate change and natural disasters.
Boring into the bed of the Dead Sea, the group of engineers and scientists began extracting layers of the earth's core on Sunday, and will continue for about two months until they reach a depth of 1,200 meters below sea level.
"The sediments of the Dead Sea are the best climate and earthquake recorders for the entire Middle East," said project head Zvi Ben-Avraham of the Israel Academy of Sciences, standing at the water's desert shore, which is already about 420 meters below sea level.
Like trees have rings, the sea bed adds two layers of sediment every year. The team will analyze 500,000 years of geological history, deciphering patterns and using them to help understand the future, said Ben-Avraham.
They will extract information on ancient rainfall, floods, droughts and earthquakes that can then be used in studies on how to best deal with global warming.
Dead Sea
New Exhibit On Nuremberg
Germany
Germany has opened a new exhibit commemorating the landmark Nuremberg war crimes trials - 65 years after more than 20 senior Nazis were put in the dock.
The exhibit is located in the Palace of Justice building where the trial started Nov. 20, 1945. Visitors can view original video and hear audio recordings; they can peer inside the courtroom where Hermann Goering, Rudolf Hess, Julius Streicher and others defended their crimes.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Sunday that "the Nuremberg trials were the answer to the perversion of the law in Nazi Germany."
The judges at Nuremberg represented the victorious Allies - the U.S. the Soviet Union, Britain and France.
Germany
Extinct In 12 Years?
Tigers
Wild tigers could become extinct in 12 years if countries where they still roam fail to take quick action to protect their habitats and step up the fight against poaching, global wildlife experts told a "tiger summit" Sunday.
The World Wildlife Fund and other experts say only about 3,200 tigers remain in the wild, a dramatic plunge from an estimated 100,000 a century ago.
James Leape, director general of the World Wildlife Fund, told the meeting in St. Petersburg that if the proper protective measures aren't taken, tigers may disappear by 2022, the next Chinese calendar year of the tiger.
Their habitat is being destroyed by forest cutting and construction, and they are a valuable trophy for poachers who want their skins and body parts prized in Chinese traditional medicine.
Tigers
Leaking Ice
Siberia
The Russian scientist shuffles across the frozen lake, scuffing aside ankle-deep snow until he finds a cluster of bubbles trapped under the ice. With a cigarette lighter in one hand and a knife in the other, he lances the ice like a blister. Methane whooshes out and bursts into a thin blue flame.
Gas locked inside Siberia's frozen soil and under its lakes has been seeping out since the end of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. But in the past few decades, as the Earth has warmed, the icy ground has begun thawing more rapidly, accelerating the release of methane - a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide - at a perilous rate.
Some scientists believe the thawing of permafrost could become the epicenter of climate change. They say 1.5 trillion tons of carbon, locked inside icebound earth since the age of mammoths, is a climate time bomb waiting to explode if released into the atmosphere.
"Here, total carbon storage is like all the rain forests of our planet put together," says the scientist, Sergey Zimov - "here" being the endless sweep of snow and ice stretching toward Siberia's gray horizon, as seen from Zimov's research facility nearly 350 kilometers (220 miles) above the Arctic Circle.
Siberia
Weekend Box Office
'Harry Potter'
Harry Potter has cast his biggest box-office spell yet with a franchise record $125.1 million domestically over opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" also added $205 million in 54 overseas countries, bringing the film's worldwide total to $330.1 million.
DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind," the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, fell to second-place with $16.2 million, raising its three-week total to $109.5 million.
Russell Crowe's thriller "The Next Three Days," the weekend's only other new wide release, debuted weakly at No. 5 with $6.8 million. Crowe plays a college instructor who plots a jail break to free his wife (Elizabeth Banks) after she's convicted of murder.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," $125.1 million.
2. "Megamind," $16.2 million.
3. "Unstoppable," $13.1 million.
4. "Due Date," $9.2 million.
5. "The Next Three Days," $6.8 million.
6. "Morning Glory," $5.2 million.
7. "Skyline," $3.4 million.
8. "Red," $2.5 million.
9. "For Colored Girls," $2.4 million.
10. "Fair Game," $1.5 million.
'Harry Potter'
In Memory
Norris Mailer
She was half the age of Norman Mailer when they met and their bond was as fast and fateful as a mortal's coupling with a god.
Norris Church Mailer, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's sixth and final wife, would enjoy and endure the ride of her life.
An actress, Wilhemina model, author and painter, Mailer died at her home in Brooklyn on Sunday. She was 61. Her passing was announced on the website of the Norman Mailer Society, which in a statement said she passed away "after a long and valiant struggle with cancer." A longtime family friend and assistant, Dwayne Raymond, said he and her two children and some close friends were at her home when she died.
As Norris Mailer wrote in her 2010 memoir, "A Ticket to the Circus," she was a single mother in her mid-20s when she met the then-52-year-old Norman Mailer at a 1975 cocktail party in his honor in Russellville, Ark. Their attraction was immediate, even if he was breaking up with his fourth wife and seeing the woman who would become his fifth. Norris Church became No. 6 in 1980. A son, John Buffalo, had been born two years earlier.
The new Mrs. Mailer discovered the consequences of fame. The macho Norman Mailer was charming, callous, wise and infuriating. Through her husband, Norris met Jacqueline Kennedy and Imelda Marcos, Woody Allen and Fidel Castro. Norman Mailer could talk about anything; she likened their banter to the rapport between Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. A sign of destiny: The Mailers both were born on Jan. 31.
But even as the author publicly rhapsodized over her auburn-haired beauty, he discouraged his wife's work, avoided her when he learned she had cancer and had affairs with several women, some of whom were referenced in his books and even showed up at social functions, at his invitation.
A road worker's daughter raised in Little Rock and Atkins, Ark., she was born Barbara Jean Davis (a name not unlike Norma Jean Baker, the real name of Marilyn Monroe, subject of the only Norman Mailer book she had read when they met), and by age 3 had won a contest as Miss Little Rock. Popular in high school ("I was at the center of everything"), she attended Arkansas Polytechnic College and dated a childhood acquaintance, Larry Norris.
They married in 1969, and had a son, Matthew, two years later. But, as she recalled, they were too different - he preferring solitude, she preferring company. They divorced in 1974. As she began a modeling career, she changed her name to Norris Church, the last name suggested by Mailer because she attended church often as a child.
Norris Mailer never considered herself in Norman Mailer's class as an author, but she did have a broad interest in the arts. Her paintings were featured in several one-woman shows. She was a member of the Actors Studio, appeared in the television adaptation of Mailer's classic "The Executioner's Song" and had a brief part, with her husband, in the film version of "Ragtime." She also wrote two novels, "Windchill Summer" and "Cheap Diamonds."
Norris Mailer
In Memory
Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek
The prison escape of former Playboy Club bunny and Milwaukee police officer Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek popularized the phrase "Run Bambi Run" and seemed tailor-made for the TV movie it inspired.
But despite the fame garnered by her flight, Bembenek died having spent more than two decades insisting on her innocence but never fully clearing her name. Her attorney said Sunday that effort will continue.
The 52-year-old died Saturday of liver failure at a hospice care center in Portland, Ore., said her longtime attorney, Mary Woehrer.
Bembenek worked briefly as a Playboy Club waitress in Lake Geneva before becoming a police officer in Milwaukee, where she married detective Fred Schultz. Bembenek was convicted in 1982 of fatally shooting his ex-wife, Christine Schultz, after allegedly complaining about the alimony he had to pay.
Bembenek was sentenced to life in prison but maintained her innocence. In 1990, she escaped Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac and fled to Canada with then-fiance Dominic Gugliatto, the brother of another inmate.
In Milwaukee, more than 200 supporters - many wearing "Run Bambi Run" T-shirts - rallied to show support for her flight from the law. Bembenek and Gugliatto were captured in Thunder Bay, Ontario, about three months later after the case was publicized on "America's Most Wanted."
Bembenek fought extradition for a time but willingly returned to Wisconsin in 1992. A judge said that "significant mistakes" had been made in the probe of Christine Schultz's death, and Bembenek soon struck a deal with prosecutors in which her conviction was set aside. She pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and received 10 years of probation. Bembenek moved to Washington state in the late 1990s to live with her parents.
Her story was made into a book and a 1993 TV movie starring Tatum O'Neal, "Woman on Trial: The Lawrencia Bembenek Story."
In 2002, after completing her parole, Bembenek filed a motion seeking testing for genetic material in the case in the hope of clearing her name. Later that year, she seriously injured her foot while apparently trying to escape out a hotel window before an appearance on the television talk show "Dr. Phil," which had agreed to pay for some of the DNA testing. Her attorney said restrictions placed on Bembenek were excessive and triggered memories of her imprisonment. The injuries forced Bembenek to have her right foot amputated a few weeks later.
Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek
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